Who is the target audience? Parents with a kid that will open it without knowing? Business travelers that charge everything to corporate?
You can get condoms and a Coke delivered for retail price + tip at 3 in the morning now.

https://youtu.be/yIjCzeN_lbc

don't forget struggling alcoholics, anon

>>21427152
If you're a seasoned alcoholic you'd bring or buy a stash from a store though.

>>21427157
100% true

It’s definitely a relic, and the prices make it more so

>drink stuff from hotel fridge while drunk
>replace with supermarket drinks next day
>meticulously transfer the labels over a number of hours
>celebrate my productivity
I've never seen a computerized one though.

I've never encountered one with stuff in it, but I only stay at cheap motels.
Um I generally keep bottled water in it to drink and keep cold, and also I tend to bring leftovers from restaurants to heat up in the microwave and eat for late night snack/brekky.

>>21427135 (OP)
At boutique hotels these usually have things like local beers, high end water brands, craft canned cocktails, and nice candy (Mayana bars instead of Snickers, etc). Those I still frequently use since the products are good and I'm old enough to have enough money to excuse overpaying for convenience.
But yeah budget/middle class hotels have basically all eliminated them, sometimes in favor of little 24/7 stores in the lobby. I think people probably buy more that way, likely feeling less ripped off from something formally designated as a store in a public space than from a fridge in their room.

>>21427135 (OP)
>Who is the target audience?
People who just spent the last 8 hours traveling too tired to stumble down to the hotel bar for 1 or 2 drinks, and then maybe wants a small snack. Yes its $40 for those 3 items, no you didn't have to put pants back on and leave the bed.

The most egregious offender I've seen was the minibar in the Venetian hotel in Las Vegas. Every item was on a special pad that sensed weight. If you picked it up to see what the fuck the snack is, it automatically charges your room. You have like 2 minutes to put it back, but realistically if you're blackout drunk in vegas and knock everything over, you get to pay $150 for 6 cans of soda and a bag of chips.

>>21428864
Yeah I think all the Hilton chain hotels have gotten rid of the pre-stocked fridges for the lobbyside canteens. They tend to have a wider variety of things for sale and (presumably) are easier to catch thieves so it's a win win for the hotels I imagine

>>21427135 (OP)
Their for when you had to grab an emergency redeye flight, halfway across the country, to handle some client's fucking problem and you're basically too damn worn out to even clean up and walk down to the hotel bar and wtf the company's paying for it anyway.

>>21428864
They use very specific, unusual brands so the hotel guest cant easily replace the stuff with cheaper storebought.

>>21427135 (OP)
I like an empty fridge so I can put my low-effort groceries in it. It saves me on overpriced restaurant money since I'm charging a school instead of a company

>>21427135 (OP)
>a Coke delivered for retail price + tip at 3 in the morning now.
in a big city maybe, but most hotels and resorts can roll up the sidewalks at a certain hour.

I'd suggest the target audience is somsone who just doesn't give a damn and is willing to pay for convenience prices. If you get back to your room and just want a bottled water or soda to go with your free ice bucket,it's there without hassle. If it's about skipping a meal and needing something, it's there. It's just to replace items you'd have at home. If your room was in the hundreds, a few more dollars is like tax. Not everyone can hit a grocery on the way to the hotel room. I assume you've never been snowed in somewhere stupid like Atlanta and are just thrilled not to sleep in a chair in the terminal, and are willing to accept a cheap hotel vicinity room for 6hours of sleep and a shower freshenup followed by a hotel van to return to the terminal.

Corporate types will likely be on a club floor with a help yourself kind of kitchen and bar area, fully stocked with snacks laid all. Your flight attendants are happy to give you a couple of baileys to take with you for your first night in your room too. Why, because you're in business or first. Ditto for the folks in the lounge.

>>21428720
i've seen one with scales, got billed for a bunch of shit when i moved it to put my own stuff in not realizing immediately my OWN fridge was in a cabinet under the TV. they took it all off at checkout

>>21427135 (OP)
I'm guessing rich people and retards.

Some of the ones in Vegas have pressure sensors underneath the drinks and if you pick them up at all your room gets billed immediately

>>21427135 (OP)
These are impulse items, same as the stuff next to the checkout at the grocery store. Do you really want a $20 can of macadamia nuts? No. But it's right there.

>>21427135 (OP)
Moron tax, hoping to get people who don't understand how much money it's going to cost since they don't have to put pricetags on anything in there.

>>21430017
Well yeah, but that's a different thing.

>>21427157
Not much of an alcoholic. I usually tank what I've bought and brought to my room, then hammer the minibar when I've run out

Lazy people with money to burn. Most properties have at least one convenience store, gas station, or liquor store within walking distance.

youre probably right OP. plus just rich people i guess
I'll never forget going to disney land as a kid, hotel had mini fridge. Grabbed a can of coke and drank it....20 fucking dollars!!! my father was SO pissed

People with diabeetus

>>21427187
Yeah. I stay at a lot of decent hotels and these are pretty uncommon these days.